SPIRIT 2.0 Lesson s8

SPIRIT 2.0 Lesson: I, Inventor

======Lesson Header======Lesson Title: I, Inventor Draft Date: November 22, 2008 1st Author (Writer): Lisa Tingelhoff 2nd Author (Editor/Resource Finder): Derrick Nero Grade Level: Primary, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Cartoon Illustration Idea: person deep in thought

Content (what is taught):  Influences of products or systems on society  Characteristics of inventors  Rules of inventing

Context (how it is taught):  Students will develop a product or system that can benefit society.  Students will identify and incorporate the engineering design process.

Activity Description: In this activity, students will examine what drives invention. Students will identify needs and wants of society and strive to invent a product or process that satisfies that need or want. Through this activity, emphasis will be placed on format and organization of the engineering notebook and use of the engineering design process.

Standards: (At least one standard each for Math, Science, and Technology - use standards provided)  Science—A1  Technology—A1, D2

Materials List:  Various construction materials

 2009 Board of Regents University of Nebraska ASKING Questions (I, Inventor)

Summary: Students will identify key characteristics of an inventor. Students will discuss what drives invention and will discuss some of rules for inventing.

Outline:  Depict main characteristics of inventors.  Discuss important information to know and rules of inventing.

Activity: Engage students in a classroom discussion about characteristics that determine an inventor. Perhaps have students draw a picture of what an inventor would look like. Discuss important information to know about inventing and the rules of inventing.

Questions Answers What are the characteristics of an inventor? Characteristics include curiosity, determination, and the ability to generate many solutions to problems. What are some things to know about inventing? Creativity is key, inventions stem from problems, and inventions are often improvements What are some rules about inventing? Be able to brainstorm, be enthusiastic and motivated, use all resources to gather information, be persistent, and keep good records

 2009 Board of Regents University of Nebraska EXPLORING Concepts (I, Inventor)

Summary: Students will explore needs and wants of society and invent a product to satisfy one of the needs and wants.

Outline:  Discuss what drives invention.  Identify needs and wants of society.  Invent a product or process that satisfies a need or want.

Activity: Society and its needs drive invention. Inventions and innovations often aim to improve life or to make a task easier. Discuss examples of inventions that have made our lives easier. Ask students to think of needs or wants that they still have or that society in general may still have. Students will chose one of these needs or wants and work to invent a product or process that satisfies it. Students will use their engineering notebooks and the engineering design process to guide their invention. The notebook will be used to verify authenticity of the invention and to prevent other students from using or producing similar ideas. Emphasize with students the importance of writing things down, dating entries, and initialing them to prevent the stealing of ideas.

Robotics Connection: Present the students with a TekBot and a CEENBot. Ask the students what needs or wants the inventor fulfilled by developing the respective robots. Tell students that the CEENBot was developed after the TekBot and ask what students think were driving forces for the creation of the CEENBot.

 2009 Board of Regents University of Nebraska INSTRUCTING Concepts (I, Inventor) Engineering design process The engineering design process has many forms. Some conceptual models have as many as ten steps others as few as five. The process is as individual as the engineer who is using it. It is cyclical meaning that you can start at any step in the process and it is dynamic meaning that it is always changing and adapting. For this instructional module we have chosen a simplified five-step approach to the engineering design process. The five steps are: 1) Ask, 2) Imagine, 3) Design, 4) Create, and 5) Improve. Ask In this step you ask what is the problem that needs addressed and do a lot of research to see what other ideas are out there and what other solutions have been attempted. This research is critical because it means you won’t duplicate something that others have tried and were unsuccessful. It allows you to frame the problem and limit (constrain) it so that you have a better understanding of what is required. Imagine Here you brainstorm ideas that might possibly be a solution to the problem you explored in the Ask step. Don’t be afraid to think big and out of the box. Sometimes if the answer to a problem is obvious or simple it would have been solved already. Get creative! After brainstorming possible ideas and solutions, you should analyze each possibility for potential merit. Finally select the best alternative for further exploration. Design This step involves the creation of a plan to carry out the idea that you selected in the Imagine step. You can make a diagram, create lists of things that you will need, and gather together the necessary skills that you will need to carry out your plan. Create This is the fun step. You get to actually build/create the idea that you selected and planned out. This is the hands on step where you see the intellectual idea actually come to live. It is important to follow your plan that you created. Be sure to note what went well and what didn’t work for future use in refining the idea. Finally test your product and see if it does what it is supposed to do. Does it solve the problem? It is possible that you will have to go back to any of the previous steps after you test your creation. If it doesn’t work, do you need a better plan, a better idea, or do you need to rethink your initial problem? Improve Here is the refinement stage. You have something that works but you want it to be the best it can be. You want the most speed, efficiency, the best appearance, etc. Here you think about and talk about what works, what doesn’t work and what could be improved on. After this discussion occurs, modify your design to see if you can improve it. Finally test out to see if you actually improved your solution or not. Remember at this stage it is possible that you might have to go back to any of the other stages.

The powerful thing about this process is that it is fluid and creates a nice organizational flow for the process to follow. At the end of each step always ask if you accomplished what you set out to do. If you did not repeat that step or go back further in the process to try to arrive at a better solution. Remember you can start at any step but once the process is begun you need to go from one step to another in order for the process to be effective.

 2009 Board of Regents University of Nebraska ORGANIZING Learning (I, Inventor)

Summary: Students will use an engineering notebook to organize and present the use of the engineering design process.

Outline:  Explain organization of the engineering notebook and importance of good documentation.  Review the engineering design process.

Activity: In this activity, students will use the engineering design process to invent their own product or process to satisfy a want or need of society. Students will use the engineering notebook to document each step of the process. Discuss the following components of an engineering notebook:  Problem to be solved or the need for the invention or innovation  Brainstorming of solutions  Background information from which to draw  Resources used  Daily log of ideas, research, meetings, discussions, etc.  Pictures and drawings

The patent process depends on the documentation of an invention by an inventor to prove intellectual rights to an individual. It is important to document each step of the design process with dates and initials. Remember that anything that is not written in ink can be erased or modified! Also, remind students the importance of using a bound notebook for their records as it can show pages that have been removed.

One organizational method is to use an engineering notebook. So in this activity students will use an engineering notebook to document the design process used to develop their invention. Emphasize written documentation and illustrations along with dates and signed initials on each page, the use of ink, and a bound notebook without the pages removed.

Engineering Notebook Self-Assessment

 2009 Board of Regents University of Nebraska UNDERSTANDING Learning (I, Inventor)

Summary: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the engineering design process by evidence of their engineering notebook.

Outline:  Students will identify needs or wants of society to be addressed by invention.  Students will develop an invention to address a need or want of society.  Students will use an engineering notebook to document the authenticity of their invention and the process by which they developed their invention.

Activity: Formative Assessment As students work through the engineering design process, the teacher will ask questions about each step such as the following: Which step are you on? How did you arrive at that step? The teacher may also ask the student to present their engineering notebook for an informal review checking for ink, initials, and a detailed documentation of the process.

Summative Assessment Upon completion of their invention, students will provide documentation of the engineering design process by evidence of their engineering notebooks. Students will use a rubric to self-assess the use of the notebook to record the design process and the authenticity of their invention.

Engineering Notebook Self-Assessment

 2009 Board of Regents University of Nebraska